Ontario Municipal Board resolution adopted by council

Cambridge Times

Cambridge has joined a growing number of municipalities calling on Queen’s Park to cover the legal cost of challenges to Ontario’s Places to Grow Act.

Coun. Nicholas Ermeta brought forward a resolution, arguing that if municipalities have to adhere to the Act, then the province should share the cost when developers at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) challenge the Places to Grow Act.

Planning commissioner Janet Babcock said there is little chance of that happening.

“It would be a huge amount of money,” she said, noting that the city and region’s new official plans are being challenged.

Following the meeting, Ermeta said the province tells municipalities what to do without necessary financial assistance.

“Although I don’t expect them to go with the recommendation, this motion does draw some awareness to how broken things are at Queen’s Park.”

Places to Grow is a provincial initiative that supports economic prosperity and a high quality of life.